With an international career spanning advertising, media and marketing, UC alum Todd Wilson now leads global media and PR procurement for the LEGO Group. He reflected on how his time in student media at UC opened unexpected career doors, and the experiences that have helped shape his career.
What drew you to UC, and what did you study?
It was 1985 when I went to UC. I lived in Picton. I had decided to go to university, but from there, it was largely based on proximity. Between Victoria and UC, I had extended family in Christchurch and knew that city better, so that was the deciding point. I viewed a university education as a means to an end, a way to secure a good career, rather than an end itself. I set out to study a Bachelor of Commerce, even though my high school classes were mostly hard sciences, physics, chemistry, and mathematics, etc
Can you tell us about your role and what it’s like to work for The LEGO Group? People must assume you get to play with the product every day!
Haha! I have been with the LEGO Group for five years, and I currently lead the Global Media & Public Relations procurement. Essentially, my role is to identify, contract, and negotiate with suppliers for the LEGO Group that provide services and technology in the field of media & PR. This includes media agencies that buy the advertising placements we use around the world, media publishers, such as Google and Facebook, and public relations agencies.
Prior to the LEGO Group, I worked for over 25 years in the advertising industry, starting at Saatchi & Saatchi in New Zealand and, over time, holding leadership roles in the same agency holding company in South Africa, Latin America (based in Puerto Rico and later Miami), and China. My position at the LEGO Group allows me to utilise this advertising industry experience. Recounting one story, a few years ago, while in the advertising industry, I led my agency team in a competitive process to win a Latin American LEGO Group contract. Today, I sit on the other side of the table, a buyer of those same agency services rather than a seller.
On the lighter side, play is embedded in our culture. In fact, LEGO is from ‘Leg godt’, Danish for ‘play well’, created by the founder in 1932. Exemplifying this, it is not uncommon in an in-person job interview for candidates to be left alone for a few minutes with a pile of bricks and asked to build something. We have even done this in major supplier presentations, asking the presenting team to spend 10 minutes building something that represents their organization. We don’t really care what you build; rather, we want to see if you embrace the culture of play and our brand. Finally, if you go into our offices, they are full of LEGO models, including some giant builds of full-size sports cars and iconic movie characters, among others.
What skills have been most important in helping you succeed in senior media leadership roles?
I have worked 85% of my career outside of New Zealand. As a New Zealander, we are often laid-back in our delivery and working relationships, and no one generally has any historical beefs with us, so in most countries, people take you as you are, rather than hold any preconceptions. I have always had the attitude that this is ‘their country’ and I am the foreigner; therefore, I should learn their way, rather than expecting them to bend towards me. I am quite analytical, so what I say or do is usually researched and fact-based.
I use humour a lot with those who work for me, as well as those who hold more senior positions. A mix of all that, plus a Kiwi accent, and I guess that comes across as genuine and convincing. Being good at your job and likeable is always better than just being good at your job!
How is media strategy evolving as audiences consume content in new and different ways?
It’s all about choice and garnering attention. People have more choices these days. Multiple video and audio streaming services and social feeds to entertain oneself, many of which are free of conventional advertising. So, as a buyer of media looking to promote our LEGO products, it becomes harder to find your desired audience.
Media strategy is a lot more data-driven today than in the past. One looks at audience traffic through digital tracking and matches that to sales response through LEGO online stores or eCommerce websites. Then you test which advertising formats and messages drive the most response.
Beyond just the placement of advertising, you also build strategies that leverage social media to generate interest and brand advocacy among both existing and potential consumers. Advertising media strategy is a more multi-dimensional and data-driven process than it ever was.
Your involvement in student media and events at UC suggests you were already building skills in advertising, sponsorship, and broadcasting. Can you share some highlights?
I was studying Business Administration and, particularly, enjoyed the marketing classes. Through some first-year mishaps (OK, so first time away from home, I partied up a bit and failed a couple of classes!), I found myself needing a 4th year to complete two 3rd year papers for my degree. I knew Blair French, the newly appointed editor for Canta, the student newspaper, and his then girlfriend, Erin Eyles, suggested I apply for the Advertising Manager role. I applied, met with Blair, and following that was a final interview with Suze Wilson, the University Student President. That final meeting went well, so I got the role. As it transpired, I was quite successful in generating more Canta advertising sales than anyone in previous years, and so I was then asked to put together the sponsorship for the following year’s Student Orientation.
Looking back, how did these opportunities eventually shape your early career?
Besides enjoying marketing classes, including one where we had a guest lecturer from Saatchi & Saatchi, I had never had any formal exposure to the advertising and media industry, nor considered advertising as a career. Rather, I saw these two university media roles as valuable commercial experience that I hoped to eventually parlay into a bigger career opportunity. While in the Canta role, I met someone from Saatchi & Saatchi, responsible for placing advertising for one of the banks, looking to reach our students. I must have impressed him enough that, over time, he helped me secure my first real job as an advertising salesperson at the Christchurch Press, then, a year later, a media-buying role at Saatchi & Saatchi in Wellington. From there, I worked my way up, and a few years later, the Saatchi & Saatchi NZ CEO helped me open doors that eventually led to roles in South Africa and then Latin America.
My career progression has been a mix of what you know and who you know, making the most of the opportunities I had, and putting in the work. At the same time, staying true to myself, keeping my sense of humor, and treating others with respect. That combination has helped me throughout my career. Finally, without question, those very early university media roles played an enormous part in my career. I am very grateful for those opportunities and the people who helped to make that happen.
